The EU Competitiveness Council (industry, internal market) has concluded the first day of its meeting in Brussels. In the afternoon, among other things, the Ministers discussed improving the patent system in Europe. They were acquainted with a Presidency Report on progress in this area. The current Council President, Slovenian Minister of the Economy Andrej Vizjak declared, "Thanks to the delegations’ positive and constructive approach, good progress has been made in the specialised work. The essential elements of a future patent system have been identified within existing legal instruments, and most unresolved issues have been identified too, but the technical work has not yet been completed."
Improving the patent system in Europe is a political objective that is of key importance in terms of increasing the competitiveness of the European economy. Europe needs both an efficient judicial system on patents and an attractive Community patent.
The specialist discussion was extended to include preparations for and deliberations on the key legal acts needed to set up an EU Patent Court and the Community Patent. While there was broad consensus on a general framework of a solution, a series of aspects of the system still require further discussion. The Ministers agreed that efforts to find definitive solutions for both the judicial system on patents and the Community patent should be pursued.
Mr Vizjak commented, "We are aware that the future patent system must guarantee the cost-effectiveness and legal security required by European patent system users, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises. We believe that the work of the German, Portuguese and Slovenian Presidencies provides a sound basis for future progress."
